World wide air traffic is projected to double every ten to fourteen years and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) forecasts world air travel growth of five percent per annum until the year 2020. Such growth may have an influence on flight performance and may increase the workload of the flight crew. One such influence on flight performance has been the ability for the flight crew to input data while paying attention to other matters within and outside of the cockpit, especially during periods when movement makes it difficult to touch the panel in the desired manner or location. The ability to easily and quickly input data can significantly improve situational awareness of the flight crew.
Electronic displays have replaced traditional mechanical gauges and utilize computerized or electronic displays to graphically convey information related to various electronic systems associated with the electronic display. Traditional electronic displays often interfaced with a user via mechanical controls, such as knobs, buttons, or sliders, in order to enable a user to control or adjust various system properties. For example, if the electronic display is associated with a radio system, a user may adjust the frequency channel or volume level by rotating or otherwise utilizing a corresponding knob.
Many electronic devices, such as aircraft flight deck operational equipment, cursor control devices (CCDs), hard knobs, switches, and hardware keyboards, are increasingly being replaced by touch panels. A touch panel offers an intuitive input for a computer or other data processing devices, but may be affected by movement of the touch panel and/or the pilot caused by, for example, turbulence, aircraft vibration, and/or G forces.
With touchscreen displays heavily dominating the telecommunication and other user interface devices, it has become essential to upgrade avionics systems with touch-based interfaces to make use of new technological advances. It is relatively easier to replace other hardware buttons with touchscreen buttons as compared to knobs. Physical knobs are used to change values in a continuous or discrete manner (depending on the use case) by the virtue of their rotational motion. This motion is relatively difficult to replicate on touchscreen hardware. There have been many efforts to design a touch user interface that try to reproduce the same feedback as a physical knob.
For the safety of the flight it is also important that the user (pilot or crew) has the advantage of better ergonomics while operating the equipment. For avionics systems there are other factors which come into the picture, because safety is the highest priority. The virtual knobs on the touchscreen can be easily mishandled in the case of aircraft for example due to lack of stability, during the turbulence, during acceleration, or any manual inadvertent touch. This can have adverse effects on the safety of the aircraft, crew, and/or passengers.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved flight screen display ergonomics, and it is desirable to provide improved flight screen display systems that reduce the incidence of mishandling, particularly during turbulence and accelerations. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the exemplary embodiments will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.